


Smolfell

by Luna_Sin_Sin



Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale
Genre: Abusive Past Mentioned, But can be read as just brotherly, But more about the revelation of it than the act, Hurt / Comfort, Implied Fellcest, Implied non-con Sanster - Freeform, M/M, Sans is hurt, Sans is smol, Underfell Papyrus has to become a protective big brother, Underfell Sans becomes a kid again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-16 11:52:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10570749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_Sin_Sin/pseuds/Luna_Sin_Sin
Summary: After an accident in the lab, Sans is turned into a child in body - and in mind! Papyrus will have to keep him protected until he returns to his older self again, but not without the troubles that come with trying to take care of a distrustful Sans, and the revelations about their past that he reveals.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by @muskka's Smol Red comic on Tumblr.

 

                The sounds of clenched hand bones popping around the coat they just picked up off the lab floor had Dr. Alphys taking a stuttering step away from the tall, visibly livid skeleton. It was times like these that she really, really wished her girlfriend was here at her side. She felt like she needed her protection about five minutes ago.

                “What. _Happened_.”

                “W-w-well y-you se-see Papyrus… Uh… Unnn…”

                He took a step toward her and she blanched and took two hurried steps back. Holding her shaking hands up, she stuttered, “H-hold on! It- it was-wasn’t my fault! It was the machinery’s fault!”

                He advanced another step, and she hurried back another two. His hands were shaking with how tightly he was holding onto the jacket.

                “Sans… Never, **_ever_** , takes this off outside of our house… and that’s not even a certainty. I won’t. Ask again. What happened, to my brother?”

                Getting a call that there had been an accident in the labs with Sans involved was all Papyrus needed to know to drop everything and head this way immediately. He knew, _he knew_ he should have convinced Sans to not assist Undyne’s little girlfriend scientist, Head Scientist be damned, but he had owed the water monster a _favor_ and Sans had been all too willing to pay it for him.

                “I-I told you on the ph-phone he’s not hurt! He’s…just… Well…”

                He took another step closer, right eye blazing, and Alphys was backed against the wall, scuttling desperately to the side.

                “W-wait! WAIT! He’s right there, P-Papyrus! He’s under the desk!”

                Glowering, he turned to look at the desk in question.

                “Sans! Come out now!”

                Nothing stirred from under the desk she had waved at, and he turned as he shot up bones around the lizard woman. She shrieked in fear, encircled against the wall.

                “I swear, I swear P-Papyrus!”

                “If you’re lying to me Alphys, and my brother isn’t under that desk…”

                He didn’t need to go on. She was already clutching her chest protectively as he turned and strode over to the desk. Taking a knee, he grabbed the desk frame and looked under. Against the very back of the expanse was unmistakably something huddled in the back, shuddering around articles of overly large clothing. Fearful red eye-lights looked back at him.

                “…Sans?”

                It was definitely his brother… But something was without a doubt… off. He looked… smaller?

                Sans didn’t answer back at him, and although he held his hand partly under the desk, his brother only flinched away from it and didn’t reach out for him. His flinch shifted the shorts hanging from his legs and Papyrus was again revealed to bones much too little to be his brother’s.

                Turning to regard the cowering scientist, he snarled, “ _What did you do, Alphys?_ ”

                Still trapped surrounded by his bones, she held her hands up again as she hurriedly said, “Thi-this wasn’t my fault! A piece of machinery malfunctioned and spilt th-the serum on him… He was perfectly fine at first, but then… Well… He shrunk? And started acting strange! He hid under there and wouldn’t come- come out, so I called you!”

                _Serum?_

Annoyed, he turned back to Sans in time to watch him flinch again and press further up against the back of the desk. Seeing him flinch away in fear caused Papyrus to startle, and he made an effort to try to relax his features. It was obvious that whatever state Sans was in was a delicate one, and until he could examine him thoroughly, he didn’t want to accidently startle his brother again.

                _Asgore forbid he suddenly teleport away from here in this state._

Holding his hand out, he tried to sound gentle but it came out commanding nevertheless as he said, “Sans. Come here.”

                The eyes in the darkness only glared at him and his hand, as if they were extremely offending. He reached further in as he said, “I don’t want to hurt you. Just come out so I can get a good look at you- **_nnh_**.”

                The growl in the back of his throat was what escaped him instead of **_oww._** As he tugged his hand back, and Sans with him – he glowered down at where Sans had chosen to bite him. Upon being pulled out by his teeth, Sans let go of Papyrus and with more mobility than Papyrus was expecting from his shorter brother and the clothes hanging off him, Sans slipped right under his arm and made a mad dash toward the doors.

                He raised his hand to call his bones but dismissed them just as quickly, afraid that if Sans would bite _him_ of all people, he might not be thinking straight enough to know not to move surrounded by blue bones – and he wasn’t going to risk Sans accidently slamming into a bone wall.

                Rising to his feet, he hollered, “Sans, stop!”

                His voice must have startled him into glancing back, and it proved to be the little skeleton’s downfall. As Sans’ shorts slid off him he tripped over his red sweater and slammed into the ground with a resounding _clack_ of bone against floor.

                Soul in his throat, Papyrus was instantly at his side, picking him up and turning him over and examining his HP.

                _0.6/1. Thank Asgore’s Trident._

The little spill seemed to knock Sans’ unconscious at the very least, and Papyrus was gentle as he stood up with him. His brother had always been short, but he appeared so… fragile now. His bones were even less broad and dense than before. Everything about him seemed even smaller and littler.

                _No…_

It wasn’t just height and bone density. It took him only a second to see his brother was missing the crack over his left socket and his golden-tooth – besides the bruise on his cranium from where he’d just fallen, Sans didn’t bare any of his trademark scars.

                Tightening his arms around his brother, he stalked over to Alphys.

                “What did you do to him!?”

                “I told you, I-I didn’t! An experimental batch of a serum we were researching spilled on him. He shrank and started freaking out! He wouldn’t let me get n-near him, and so I called you! Please, Papyrus, send these away! I can’t help yo-your brother like this!”

                Papyrus was angry enough to dust the scientist, but he was afraid doing so would mean losing his only hope of knowing what exactly happened, and what this “serum” was. He sent his bones away, and she breathed a sigh of relief before adjusting her glasses and stepping forward.

                “What is this “serum” you were talking about?”

                Grimly, she gestured toward a broken crane and a vial of spilled contents splattered over the lab floor. She walked around it, giving herself and it pretty of space, and started ruffling through documents and papers along the back wall. He followed after her, mindful of the spill and how Sans fidgeted slightly in his sleep.

                “The serum we were recreating was a-an experimental component. I thought it had me-merits, and Sans seemed to think it might have something to do wi-with… time travel? He could read the notes and tran-translated them and…”

                “I don’t care about any of that. Is this reversible? He’s the size of a child!”

                 “We-well strictly speaking… he _is_ a child. Again, I mean. We didn’t think it would work, and it- it seems to work differently than what we thought…! But its reverted h-him back to a child in body and likely… m-mind.”

                “ _What_?”

                “Th-that’s the only pla-plausible answer! If he… If he didn’t- didn’t even respond to _you_ we can- can only assume it’s because he didn’t re-recognize you.

                He glanced down at his brother again, looking over his face once more – and as unwillingly as he was to admit that his brother hadn’t just shrunk – the signs of damage should have still been apparent. He also couldn’t get it out of his mind how afraid Sans had been _of him_ , and how he hadn’t responded to him and had even _bitten_ him.

                Had Sans only shrunk, he would have recognized him without a doubt, and he definitely wouldn’t have been afraid of him.

                He found himself grinding his teeth and scowling at Dr. Alphys’ back.

                “This is reversible, right!?”

                He needed his brother back. Sans was absolutely helpless in such a state. If he had been running from someone else like this… Someone who had genuinely wanted to hurt him…

                “I- I think so!”

                “How?”

                “H-hold on a moment, I’m looking… I remember Sans talking about it as he wrote… Ah. One minute, I’m reading it now.”

                Adjusting his hold on his brother and using his sweater to tuck his limbs, he waited impatiently while Alphys glanced over her notes. He couldn’t even tell how old Sans was. He was large enough to not be in infancy and bigger than a toddler, but he didn’t think his brother was old enough to be in his teens. Papyrus would guess he was around six or so.

                “From what Sans wrote down there… There were trials of this serum being used decades ago… It seems like it’ll wear off in about… a day’s time.”

                “A day?”

                “Fr-from what the research says, yes.”

                Dr. Alphys adjusted her glasses and looked expectantly back at him, eyeing Sans slightly.

                “S-so you’ll ju-just have to look after Sans for a day while he’s like this… and then he should return back to normal on his o-own.”

                Papyrus didn’t like the word _should_ in that sentence and scowled again, but there was nothing that could be done about the situation.

                “I would su-suggest taking him home. Maybe he- he’ll be calmer when he wakes up again and you can explain everything… or… Or maybe you’ll be lucky and he’ll sleep like this until he returns to normal?”

                With the day he was having already, Papyrus doubted something as fickle as luck would be on his side. Turning, he strode away from the doctor and headed for the doors, picking up Sans’ discarded clothing as he went.

                _First things first… I need to heal him. Whatever comes next can simply follow._

Be the situation as it was, he had no choice but to look after Sans until he recovered. As they left the labs, Papyrus could tell the scent followed them. He became extra mindful of the chemical spilled on Sans, and wrapped Sans in his hoodie to prevent the serum from coming into contact with his bones and changing him too. A headache was starting to settle behind his temples, and Papyrus could only sigh.

                Papyrus had a feeling that today was going to be a gruelingly long day.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

                By some miracle, Sans did not wake up until they safely got back home. Papyrus dropped Sans’ clothes beside the couch as he rested his brother down on the sofa just as his brother began to stir. Although he was loath to admit it, Papyrus had a weak spot for children…

                …that being said, he didn’t really know how to take care of one. He didn’t have a manual about such things, and he rarely had to interact with children in the guard except to scare them away from somewhere dangerous, or to rescue them if they’ve done something foolish.

                _I suppose… Water might be a good start._

He moved into the kitchen while Sans groaned and poured a glass as he listened attentively to Sans shifting on the couch, no down fussing with his sweater as he pushed himself until he was sitting up.

                The mark from his fall was healing alright, but he’d placed a band-aid on it for good measure. He recalled something about Sans saying baby bones had weak and impressionable skulls… Though he couldn’t recall when Sans had ever said that.

                “Here. Drink this.”

                Sans scowled at him watchfully, looking at the glass as if he were being offered to drink from a barrel of acid. Though for his brave front, he could see the frightened way Sans clung to the couch.

                “It’s not poison. I promise.”

                That look downgraded from full-blown distrust to skepticism. With a sigh, Papyrus brought the glass to his mouth and swallowed some to show him it was perfectly safe. He held it out once again, brow raised.

                “I’m certain your thirsty.”

                Sans gulped slightly.

                “It’s cool and refreshing.”

                _Take the damn glass, Sans._

Finally, his brother reached out, grabbed the glass, and drew it close. He didn’t drink straight from it, but held it by his chest on his lap as he inspected it. He dipped one of his fingers into the water and sipped from it, just a taste, before he finally deemed the glass drinkable and took a giant gulp, his little boney arms struggling to keep the glass completely still.

                Papyrus watched him until he was afraid Sans would somehow make himself sick drinking so much and calmly said, “That’s enough. I don’t want you spitting it back out in a minute.”

                Sans continued to clutch the glass, assessing it. If Papyrus didn’t know better, he thought Sans might be weighing the pros and cons of smashing him with it. That, or he was fascinated by something Papyrus couldn’t see.

                _It’s better not to take chances._

He tried to loosely keep his guard up as he asked, “Can you speak?”

                Sans stared at him.

                _I guess not…_

“How old are you? Four?”

                An outright indignant expression morphed across his brother’s face. He knew for certain now that Sans at least understood him.

                “I’m nine, you grease-ball.”

                Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what was more shocking: hearing Sans speak, call him a grease-ball (oh the irony), or the fact he hadn’t been expecting Sans to have such a soft and little voice.

                _Though again, if he’d still had his old voice… That would have been disgusting._

“Why are you making such a sadistic grin? You creep.”

                _Oh, that was not my sadistic grin, brother._

“Don’t call me a creep… and I’m not a grease-ball. Grease is disgustingly more up your ally, Sans.”

                More narrowed eyes.

                “How do you know my name? And where’s my brother?”

                _Ah, that’s right._

                He remembered Alphys mentioning how Sans didn’t seem to recognize him. If this was truly Sans as a nine year old… his impression of the Papyrus he knew must have been vastly different from the one standing before him now.

                “I know your name because I know you very well… brother.”

                Sans bristled as he spat, “Your no brother of mine. Papyrus is my only brother.”

                “Yes… and I’m Papyrus.”

                Sans snorted.

                “Oh yeah, and I’m King Asgore.”

                Apparently the difference in comparison to his younger self and who he was now was even greater than what he had thought.

                “Really take a look at me, Sans.”

                Sans mouthed, “You’re _not_ Papyrus. You’re way too grim and ‘grown man in a teenager rebellion’ to be him. My brother is little… and _cute._ ”

                Papyrus had to mentally give himself a few seconds to lower his temper. He had to remind himself that the scathing words coming out of his brother’s mouth were because Sans _did not_ recognize him. He also had to remind himself about Sans’ HP, and his even more fragile form, and _really_ resist the urge to hit Sans for talking shit.

                _He’s just another smartass kid._

Though it annoyed it, it also bemused him slightly. Sans was lax as he was now, but it interesting to see him run his mouth even though he had to be afraid. Papyrus could already tell he openly intimidated his brother.

                “Can you truly not tell who I am?”

                Sans continued to stare at him as he said, “Yeah, someone with their head screwed on backwards. Look, I don’t care what you want from me… Just let me see my brother. Don’t hurt him.”

                Still a little annoyed, he sighed as he stood up.

                “I’m not sure how I can convince you of who I am…”

                He didn’t like how Sans wouldn’t stop glaring at him. Maybe Dr. Alphys had the right idea about having Sans sleep until the serum wore off… It _would_ be easier than dealing with this, probably more efficient too.

                “Hmm… Well, let’s take you up to your room. I’m certain everything will make more sense to you again when you wake up.”

                When he reached for him, Sans tried to bolt – but _this time_ Papyrus was prepared and seized Sans’ under his arms. He was too wary of grabbing Sans by his shirt in case he slipped out of it, but as Sans began to merciless try to claw every part of him he could reach, he couldn’t deny the appeal of dropping him on his head again.

                “Sans… _Sans._ Calm down. If you make me drop you, that’s your own fault. Hey! _No biting._ ”

                For someone so small, his brother fought desperately to get out of his grip, trying to bite and sink his sharp teeth into whatever he could reach.

                “I’m warning you… _I will bite you back._ ”

                _There’s no way I can put him in my room. He’s likely to grab a weapon in there._

He pushed Sans’ door open, and he wasn’t sure why, but somehow seeing his room made Sans hysterical. He began to _shout_ and _cry_ , and his struggling doubled.

                “What is wrong? I am just putting you on your bed.”

                “St-stop it! STOP!”

                Seeing his brother so frightened reminded him of the times he’d woken up at night hearing his brother scream from a nightmare, or walked in on him having a panic attack. Sans looked out of his mind with terror, and it made Papyrus’ soul tighten. Kneeling down, he wrapped his arms around his brother consolingly, knowing it wasn’t the best to hold someone when they were panicking sometimes, but worried about what Sans might try if he let go of him.

                His brother continued to cry, still struggling for a good minute, before wrapping his arms around him and begging and pleading in sheer desperation. He couldn’t make out anything that Sans was saying, it was lost between the sobs and whimpers. His eyes scanned the room, trying to find the offending item that had terrified him, but not being able to come up with anything. Sans normally kept his room bare for this sole purpose, and he couldn’t see what would set his brother off as a child that wouldn’t do that to him as an adult.

                “Hush, hush now Sans. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. Hush, no more crying. I’m not here to hurt you. Please, relax. _Shush_.”

                As often as Sans used to have panic attacks, Papyrus was never certain what road to take with them unless Sans gave him the cues Papyrus had long since memorized. He could only hope stroking Sans’ head was comforting.

                “I won’t let anything hurt you, Sans. I’ll leave you alone in here to rest if you don’t want me in here.”

                Sans sobs turned to sniffling.

                “Y… You’ll go away?”

                “Yes, if that will make you happy.”

                _Especially if it’ll stop you from making you hurl or blackout._

                Sans’ breathing calmed further, and he pushed against Papyrus more firmly now instead of hysterically. With reluctance, he let Sans step back away from him and watched him clutch his sweater shirt to himself. On him, it hung off him like a smock.

                “Please… go away.”

                With a sigh, he stood up – slowly as to not startle Sans again – and moved toward the door.

                “Alright… I’m going to leave you in here now. If you need me, I’ll be right downstairs. I’m certain all of this will make more sense to you in the morning.”

                 He debated on sticking a bone construct in front of the door, not sure he trusted Sans enough with it closed, but in the end he decided if it made him feel safer, then that was fine.

                _My brother is an extremely skittish child, and very untrusting._

Though, if someone had manhandled _him_ , he could understand the concern.

                Much like he had expected, he had made it to the top of the stairway before he heard his brother’s door slam shut and the lock click. It made him sigh. But he was content knowing that nothing in Sans’ room could be used to hurt him – or Sans particularly – and that there was no way out besides the front door. The window in Sans’ room was prone to catching, and being two stories off from the ground would make it seem like a suicidal escape route.

                Assured of Sans’ safety for the moment, he walked downstairs and dialed Undyne’s number and waited for her to answer as he paced in his living room.

                “Papyrus.”

                “I won’t be coming in today, and possibly not tomorrow.”

                He wasn’t certain exactly how long “a day” would last, as it seemed more of an estimate than anything, but he wasn’t leaving his brother by himself until he was back to normal again. Especially not after the episode he’d just witnessed.

                “I guessed as much. Alphys filled me in on what happened. Thanks for not hurting my girl by the way. It would have been a pity to kill my best friend. A good excuse to become Captain, though.”

                “Hardy-har-har.”

                “I was being serious.”

                “As was I.”

                “…on a serious note still, I am sorry for what happened to your brother. Alphys wasn’t making it up that he should get better though.”

                “I have a funny way of hating words like ‘should, would, and could.’”

                “Me too, but unfortunately, life is full of all of them. Besides, look at the bright side.”

                “Bright side?”

                “If Sans doesn’t return to normal… _You_ get to be the big brother.”

                He hung up on Undyne with an irritable sigh, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. Even while walking home with Sans, he had tried not to consider the possibility this might not be reversible. Even now, he was trying _so hard_ not to think on it.

                The sound of wood scraping on wood drew his attention upstairs, and he lifted a brow as he heard the window catch. He sighed again, rubbing his forehead where his headache was growing as he marched up the stairs to rap his knuckles against the door.

                “There’s no use trying to go out the window, Sans. Once it jams, you’ll need someone with my strength to open it again… And besides, you’re too small for the jump outside. Open the door.”

                He wasn’t concerned about not being able to get in. He’d already broken several doors – to Sans’ room mostly – because of being woken up while Sans was having an attack, or calling out for him at night. It would be nothing to break this one.

                Instead of a reply like he had expected, there was unmistakably the sound of grunting and – much like Papyrus’ soul – the sound of something yelling as it fell a distance.

                Squaring his shoulder, he rammed into the door and busted the lock from the wall. Tied around Sans’ treadmill, yellow and red shoe strings were knotted together and extending out the cracked window, where just enough possible space was open for a very small and determined skeleton to crawl his way out of.

                “Sans!?”

                Papyrus couldn’t believe how he had underestimated his brother. He sprinted from the room and out the door, fearful of how the fall could have hurt Sans – and maybe even more fearful that his helpless brother was already running away. Kid or not, if he ran into the wrong places in town, into the wrong people here in Snowdin…

                _I have to make certain that doesn’t happen!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so flattered everyone likes Smolfell so much! In less than one day it got over a hundred hits, and about twenty kudos!? You guys are amazing! And your comments are always so nice! 
> 
> I think Smolfell will be three-to-four chapters. I really want to finish it and Witchfell, and then move on to other Underfell and Swapfell fics I already have planned, but its just been a little challenging lately because its hard to sit up and write. Like a klutz, I tried doing too much too fast a while ago and got hurt in an accident. ('^_^) You all have been very supportive so far, so I'm very grateful! 
> 
> The next chapter in Smolfell will be from little Sans' POV, so I hope you all enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T^T It was so hard to find the motivation to write this chapter, because I'd already written it once and the file for it was somehow destroyed, lost, or saved over accidentally. I'm actually happy how it turned out, but boy, I did not want to write the same thing again. But, I did, so please enjoy. 
> 
> We're in the final chapters of Smolfell.

San’s POV.

 

                From the very beginning Sans wasn’t certain of what had happened in the slightest. One moment he’d been cowering between two medical tanks in the labs, clutching his head as he tried to block out the horrible screaming happening on the operating table just in the other room, and the next minute he felt as if he was given a first-degree sense of whiplash.

                He almost hurled, dizzy and upset and blinded by the sudden illumination of lights. Had Gaster come out from the other room? He couldn’t hear anything anymore – something felt like it was suffocating him, and he couldn’t stop crying.

                Hearing the shuffling of feet behind him, he glanced back – where were the tanks? – and saw a scientist he didn’t recognize. She was staring at him with something akin to fascination, and abject horror.

                “S-Sans…? Oh. Oh no… _OH **shit.**_ ”

                That was all his little mind needed to know. Struggling against what felt like layers of clothing – what happened to his torn medical gown? – he managed to flee as fast and desperately across the room as he could, eyes on the exit. He wasn’t sure if it was the clothing that held him back, or if the lizard monster was unnaturally fast, but she sped to the exit before he could reach it and he almost tripped before he managed to shrug off the coat that had been weighing him down.

                “Pl-please stop! Uh, _stay_??”

                His eyes sought out anything resembling shelter, and landed on a desk against the back wall. He ran toward it, keeping a work bench between him and the monster before diving underneath and clinging desperately toward the back wall. Part of him knew he couldn’t escape. Even if he had managed to, Gaster would hurt his little brother if Sans tried to run away.

                The monster was speaking just away from the desk, but he tuned her out and clutched his head again as the tears started to form once more.

                _Where_ was he? Had he blacked out again? Stars, he’d been doing that _so much_ lately. The fears kept coming too – the fear of where he was in the labs. He wasn’t allowed to wander into many places, and he’d seen the experiment table littered with items he hadn’t been able to identify.      

                Was it his turn? He had so many nightmares about Gaster finally putting him on the table. So many nightmares of seeing himself replacing whatever monster actually was on there, and experiencing the horrible things that had been done to them. He could feel himself slipping in and out of the memories, and curled further in on himself.

                There were raised voices outside, and Sans was even more terrified. Was it Gaster? Had Sans done something bad like run away from and blacked out? Was he here to punish him?

                _Please no, please no, no, no…_

A figure in black and red knelt at the front of the desk, a scowling monster’s face instantly coming into view. Sans clung to the back of the desk desperately and started to cry, and watched the monster’s face shift to Gaster’s – or distort somehow – and he wanted to scream.

                Everything after that grew fuzzier. He remembered a red glad glove reaching for him that shifted into a white hand with a hole in the center. Sans knew, _he knew_ that what he was about to do would only make everything worse for him, he’d get punished – but he bit the hand with his sharp teeth anyway.

                He was too scared to release his bite once he’d done it, and was half-dragged out from under the desk before he finally let go and saw the exit wasn’t blocked this time. With every ounce of his strength, he dove under the monster’s arm and sprinted for all he was worth, shedding the shorts that encumbered him.

                He was almost there to the doors when he heard his name shouted, and it proved to be his undoing. He vaguely remembered tripping over his gown – his red sweater? – and slamming into the ground before everything went black.

                Sleep offered him no respite.

                When he woke up again, he was in an unfamiliar house on a soft couch that terrified him. Soft furniture was no longer a comforting place to be, but he still clung to it as the monster from before brought him a glass of water.

                Though Sans was no fool. He smelt it and inspected it critically before he took a drink, not realizing how parched he was until he almost drunk himself to sickness.

                He was still scared, but he knew he had to put on a brave front and try to not let this unknown monster know how scared he was. Whoever they were, they surely couldn’t have been more frightening than Gaster.

                …but they certainly seemed more delusional than he was, or just as bad. They tried to say that he was _Papyrus._ Did this monster think he was an idiot? It was obvious that they’d lost their mind, and as much as Sans wanted answers, he was too scared to pursue them. It didn’t matter where he was or his brother was, he’d get away from here and find his way back to him.

                But then the monster _grabbed_ him. A deep-seated fear of being touched by anyone but his brother set in, and he started scratching and trying to bite the monster with every last ounce of determination in his body. Try as he might, struggle as he did, they still managed to carry him upstairs without much trouble.

                But the moment, _the moment,_ he saw the almost barren room and the threadbare bed he _lost it._ He started screaming sobbing and thrashed with a desperation that he didn’t know he had in him because he knew, _he knew_ what was coming and he _didn’t want_ – and he _just wanted to be alone with his brother, safe and happy and not **here –**_

But then the monster hugged him, and he was taken off guard. He continued to struggle but eventually the unexpected move surprised him into hugging the monster back, clinging to them and begging him to spare him, to _please spare him_. He’d do whatever else he wanted him to do.

                He knew he was being foolish. Gaster had hugged him too, comforted him…

                _At first._

But then the monster told him he’d leave him alone. He wouldn’t make Sans do anything, and he’d _leave._ Sans knew he couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste and backed out of the monster’s embrace as he begged to be left alone.

                The monster really did leave him, and Sans could only rush toward the door and hurry to shut it. He locked it, hearing the unmistakable click before backing away, fearing the monster would suddenly charge the door any moment now. The footsteps outside had paused, but a few moments later they continued down the stairs and Sans almost started sobbing again, this time in relief.

                It took him several moments of wiping his face before he could see clearly again. He knew every precious second alone couldn’t be wasted, not if he wanted to escape from here. He ran toward the window and peered outside, his eyes immediately focusing on the white floor.

                _What’s… that?_

It was a little shiny, and looked a bit mushy. Was it soft? Would it break his fall? The window was further away from the ground than he liked, and he didn’t trust himself not to get hurt falling out of it. His eyes continued to scan the area, focusing on the… trees in the background?

                His soul suddenly tightened as realization set in.

                _This white stuff… Is it snow?_

He remembered reading about snow in one of the books he read to Papyrus… and it was in one of Gaster’s assignments for him too. Solid water, or something. It covered everything in what looked like a downy fluff, and Sans was overcome with a nostalgia for something he’d never experienced before.

                _I want… I want to take Papyrus to a place like this. With snow, and woods… Where he can play and grow up away from the sterile air and experience these white floors… and not the white floors of the labs._

His sockets burned again and he made himself focus. He couldn’t… He couldn’t waste time like this. He didn’t know when the monster would try to come back into the room. He had to make his escape.

                He turned from the window and decided to take stock of his resources. There was a treadmill, more beaten up than the ones at the labs, and that bed again. It was without a sheet and only had a single pillow and a flimsy blanket. He still felt uncomfortable around it and didn’t want to go near it.

                There was a dresser with drawers filled with questionable things that he felt he was better off not knowing about… and on the side of it, he realized the room wasn’t as empty of decorations as he’d thought it was. There were… pictures of him… Pictures of Papyrus too. They made him ill, and made him wonder just how long this monster had been observing him…

                There were stranger pictures too – pictures of the monster from downstairs, and a photo of a monster that looked strikingly like him…

                He forced himself to look away from the skeleton with the cracked eye socket and gold tooth. For all he knew, that monster could have been his and Papyrus’ parent, the one who’d abandoned and sold them to the labs. He didn’t want to think about it any longer.

                The closet in the room was full of sweaters and t-shirts, with some shoes hazzardly strewn about on the bottom. He examined the red and gold shoelaces analytically as he tried to form a plan of escape. If nothing else, he figured that they could be useful and pulled them free from the shoes.

                He went back to the window and unclasped the latches, but hesitated on pushing the window up just yet. Jumping out would be suicidal with his health, _especially_ because he didn’t know if the snow would be soft or if he might possibly sink into it like water. He turned to glance at the exercise machine, and the shoe strings in his hand.

                _I think they’ll support me… But I don’t think **I** can support me._

He glanced back at the bed, the dresser, and then the closet as a plan finally came to mind.

                _That might work._

He moved toward the treadmill and began to fasten the shoelaces together in knots, and then to one of the bars before heading to the window.

                _This has to work._

He was certain he wouldn’t get another shot at this.

                Grabbing the window, he pushed with all his might as the wood scraped against the banister. The sound made him wince, and he was certain the monster downstairs would hear it too. Then, suddenly, the left sight caught and wouldn’t rise anymore.

                He could hear boots coming up the stairs and hurried and threw the end of the shoelaces outside the window so they hung out. A knock came against his door and he was almost too scared to follow through with his plan before he kicked the wall under the window with a grunt, and then cupped his hands around his mouth as he mimed falling using the doppler effect he’d learned recently.

                What he hadn’t been expecting was for the door to nearly be busted off its hinges in only moments. One single second later, and Sans would have been discovered before he had managed to dive into the closet.

                “Sans!?”

                Trembling on top of the shoes, he waited until he heard the monster sprint out from the room before he hurried from the closet, and once the front door banged open, he dashed down the stairs in ungraceful leaps and bounds. Flinging open the door, he ran in the opposite direction the skeleton had taken around the house.

                _Cold and biting,_ were his first thoughts as he hiked his shirt up and bolted with all his might through what appeared to be a town. There weren’t any monsters in sight, so he didn’t try to hide himself – just sprinted for everything he was worth.

                It didn’t matter where he was going. As long as he got away, he could always orientate himself later. But man, did this snow have to be so cold? It felt like the marrow in his bones were freezing!

                He wasn’t sure of how long he ran before he slid on some ice and nearly crashed into a snowbank. As winded as he was, he could only fall to his knees and gasp for air.

                _I can’t run anymore…_

He looked around him, still not recognizing anything familiar. He was about to start walking, just to find some trees and get out from this open place, when he heard something walking up behind him. Spinning, he saw it wasn’t the monster from before – but two monsters in black cloaks wielding enormous axes.

                “What’s that smell?”  
                (Where’s that smell?)

                _Dog beasts,_ he realized with a paralyzing terror. They began to walk around him in quick circles, almost trampling him several times.

                “If you’re a smell…”  
                (…identify yoursmelf!)

                Sans couldn’t find his voice to talk as one of them put their sharp toothed muzzle right in front of his face and took a big whiff of him.

                “Smells… oddly familiar…”  
                (But not recognizable… Smells sterile… of chemicals… Unknown smell!)  
                “Could it be…”  
                (A… human!?)

                Trembling, he tried to back away from them but they started snarling at his action, their hackles raising along with their axes.

                “A human! Must be a dirty human!”  
                (Kill the human!)

                “W-wait, w-wait, I’m- I’m a m-m-monster!”

                “Dirty tricks!”  
                (Dirty tricks no good on us!)

                Sans saw his life flash before his eyes as he barely managed to stumble away from the first slash of one of the dog beasts’ axes. The second one had him diving away, rolling through the freezing snow. He still hadn’t recovered his strength yet, and found it hard to even raise his arms defensively.

                They both continued to advance, snarling as they raised their axes above their heads.

                (“ **KILL THE HUMAN**!”)

                Sans saw the axe blades coming and let out a sob.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smol Sans is quite resourceful, isn't he? Unfortunately it seems like he jumped from the frying pan into the fire. 
> 
> There's still going to be another chapter of Smolfell. Thank you to everyone who's been leaving comments and kudos, you guys are really helpful in keeping me inspired and motivated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I feel a bit pleased yet bad for anyone who had read the last chapter in the first hour after I had posted it, lol. That was a mean prank for me to pull, but I guess not many people saw it because no one commented about it, haha. Lucky~

Papyrus’ POV.

 

                “He… smells sort of…”  
                (Like a puppy?)

                Sans was half buried in the snow as he quivered below them, too frightened to move a bone as he stared up at their raised axes. One hit – one hit and he’d be dust and Papyrus would never see his brother again.

                He’d found his brother’s trail quickly after realizing Sans had never leapt from the window and had japed him instead. He had been able to cover a lot more ground than his frantically fleeing brother. Papyrus had been so relieved to see him, so worried he’d be hurt by the multiple traps throughout the Underground, but had then seen Dogamy and Dogaressa towering over his brother with their weapon’s raised, their voices barely carrying to him.

                Rage took hold of him and fast enough to even surprise himself, he was barreling into Dogaressa and knocking her several feet away with a frightened whine before he rounded and decked Dogamy across his snout into the ground. Still being the closest to him, he took out his anger on Dogamy, dragging him up from the snow and holding him up by his throat as he snarled.

                “ ** _What do you think you’re doing!?_** ”

                He launched the dazed and alarmed monster into a tree where he smacked with a resounding yelp, which was followed by a howling cry of, (Dogamy, no!)

                Dogaressa came at him, fur erect and hackles raised, but a moaning cry still echoing from her throat. Papyrus grabbed her and hurtled her after her partner, where Dogamy caught her and they tumbled to the snow. He advanced on them as bone constructs raised around them, caging their backs to the tree behind them.

                “ _You almost just dusted my brother, you incompetent, useless, worthless canines!”_

Huddling protectively around each other, they snarled at him with genuine fear in their eyes.

                “Mercy, mercy, Captain!”  
                (We didn’t know – we didn’t know that it was… Sans!?)

                He wanted nothing more than to grab a bone construct and hit them again – he hadn’t been this angry in such a long time. The fear of Sans being hurt, to escaping, to worrying about him dying out here because Papyrus _hadn’t protected Sans –_ it almost drove him mad with wrath, anxiety, and potent fear and worry.

                But it was thoughts of _Sans_ that snapped some control back into his bones.

                _Oh no…_

                He looked back to see Sans still where he had been a minute before, looking at him in absolute terror, and all at once Papyrus felt his rage give way to hurt. He couldn’t imagine how frightening he must look – how he must _feel_. The intent of dust-lust was emanating from him in waves until he forced it to stop.

                This reaction startled Dogamy and Dogaressa into confused whines, and he turned back to them and immediately sent his bone cage away as he growled, “Get lost. **_Now._** ”

                The dog couple couldn’t grab themselves fast enough as they pulled each other from the scene and fled as fast as they could from the area.

                Still shaking from so many raging emotions, Papyrus didn’t turn around until he got his face under control. When he turned to Sans again, his brother was on his knees, his bones shaking so hard they clacked against each other. Seeing him like this made Papyrus feel an indescribable amount of sadness. More so when took a step forward and Sans violently flinched and fell on his back.

                “Sans…”

                He held his hand out and his brother scampered away from him, tears falling from his skull sockets. Papyrus felt his soul tighten and worried it would crack further. He couldn’t stand this, couldn’t stand Sans being so horrified of him.

                _Was his Sans this scared of him? Did he hide his fear and revulsion behind that damned never faltering smile?_

He pressed his palms into sockets as he dropped to his knees.

                _It wasn’t… It wasn’t **fair.**_

He knew he sounded like some petulant child, but he didn’t care. Sans was the one person in his life who he loved more than anyone else. The one person he actually cared about to the point of making it his mission to protect him – to grow strong so he could offer him _safety…_

This sort of outcome only felt far too cruel, even by their world’s standards.

                Of all the ironies, by the stars, he wished Sans was here. He’d know exactly what to say to make the situation better, to diffuse it – to make things _okay again…_ Sans had always been like that – knowing just the right way to use his blunt way of speaking to just…

                _To just make things alright once more._

He looked up from his hands and saw the little version of his brother was still where he was, still trembling and staring at him.

                He was suddenly rocked by the realization that _Sans_ was still right here, and he needed Papyrus even if he didn’t realize it… Papyrus took stock of himself and his emotions as he suddenly had an epiphany. He knew Sans better than anyone – his way of influence, his methods for calming a situation down… He didn’t need the Sans he knew to get through to his frightened little brother – he just had to call out to Sans, and stop forgetting this person wasn’t his brother.

                He didn’t believe in any sort of god, but Papyrus prayed for his plan to work.

                “Nyeh… heh… I guess after that… Those strays will have to see a dentist, as I’m sure their canines are a bit loose.”

                Sans stared at him, his expression still scared but mostly confused.

                _Oh stars, what if he doesn’t like his insufferable puns yet?_

Unwilling to give in, Papyrus tried again.

                “I… I know you must be wondering why mutt I hound you with these… doggone puns, but I must do so to prove… To prove a point!”

                He could feel himself faltering. He rarely ever said puns, only when he’d come up with a partially good and satisfying one to upstage his brother – but he was The Great Papyrus. He would _not_ fail at this, not when these stakes were so high. Why would Sans bother praising him if he wasn’t so great? He really did have a point to prove, or several for that matter.

                Sans still looked confused – so confused he’d stopped trembling and crying. Papyrus hoped this was a good sign and kept going.

                “Today must have been very ruff on you.”

                Sans actually laughed at that last one, seemingly just as surprised by it as Papyrus was. Papyrus could feel his embarrassment rise as he thought of another pun to say, this one by far the most mortifying. But it was for Sans, and he’d do anything for his brother.

                “See, I don’t… bite. I know I said I did, but I won’t. I’m not a bad… dog who wants to hurt you. I’m actually… kind of a… A good boy.”

                Sans had stopped crying now, and was slowly pushing himself to his feet, his eyes searching Papyrus’ face with a new intensity, something warily hopeful in his eyes.

                “…some of those puns are in the joke book I’m reading to Papyrus right now…”

                Papyrus hadn’t meant to make a connection with something from the past, he’d just gone where he though the joke should go, but desperately clung to the hope this was a good thing.

                “…Papyrus?”

                It didn’t look like Sans believed him yet, but he had come a little closer. Papyrus tried to think of anything he could say to convince Sans of who he was – a memory, of some sort, but if Sans was nine, he doubted he would have any retainable memories he could grasp onto. So he tried for honesty.

                “Yes. I’m sorry Sans. I should have explained to you what was going on… What _is_ going on. I know you’re confused and scared, even if you don’t believe I’m Papyrus, I promise… I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to protect you.”

                Sans came closer now. He was fidgeting with his hands, twisting his sweater this way and that and looking all around him as he seemed to battle with himself.

                “…someone who likes really bad puns… can’t be all bad.”

                Relief flooded through Papyrus’ bones, and he pulled his scarf from his neck and slowly but securely hung it around his brother’s shoulders after seeing him trembling from the cold air. Sans clung to it unsurely. Papyrus could see he was wet with snow and smelt vaguely of dog. He was so glad that Dogamy and Dogaress hadn’t yet pulled him into battle…

                _Wait._

A new epiphany came over him, and although he knew how dangerous this was, he pulled his soul from his chest and held it out to his brother without hesitance. The upside down heart was cracked from abuse in some places and damaged, but it was still a good soul. Even if it was different from the soul Sans knew, it wouldn’t be unrecognizable to him. You couldn’t fake resembling someone else’s soul.

                Sans looked at him strangely, looked at the soul presented to him, and then lightly touched it. Papyrus let him probe it, get a sense of it, and he could tell the exact moment his brother recognized him, truly recognized him, because his sockets filled with tears again and he spun and flung himself at him, clinging to neck desperately. Papyrus let his soul vanish and further tugged his makeshift blanket around his brother as he picked him up.

                “What’s going on Papyrus? I don’t understand anything…”

                Still relieved he’d finally, _finally_ gotten through to his brother, he started heading back to the house with him, eyeing their surroundings warily.

                “I’ll explain everything to you this time… Let’s just get you back and a good bath and some food in you first. Are you alright? Did those monsters hurt you?”

                Sans shook his head against his shoulder, still trembling.

 

................

 

                Papyrus wasn’t actually sure how they ended up eating first after he’d strictly said Sans was going to take a bath first and foremost, but by the Guard’s reputation was he glad to have waited on the bath. Sans dug into his food with a ravenous appetite that had caused Papyrus to wonder if he’d lose a finger every time he had refilled his plate.

                By the end of it, Sans was covered in sauce and only too eager to take a bath. Though how exactly it went from _Sans_ taking a bath to _them_ taking a bath, he had no idea. Scrunched up in the tub with his arms crossed, he watched Sans enjoy the warm soak in front of him.

                “Ahh… This feels good… I don’t remember the last time I had a warm bath…”

                “Remind me again why I’m in the tub?”

                “Your somehow Papyrus, right? Me and my little bro always wash up together.”

                That tugged at his soul strings, and Papyrus stopped himself at berating Sans for continuously spilling water from the tub. He still wasn’t sure how to handle kids, even his kid brother, but Sans had always told him that if he was on patrol and it was a kid causing trouble, to ‘give them a pass, bro. they’re just a child.’

                He’d never really understood how to do that, so he’d only just yelled and scared them off instead of making a big deal out of whatever disturbance they were making. But he felt like maybe this was a way to do that too. Not yelling, but taking a page out of his brother’s book and just observing.

                Sans turned to face him, and he knew his brother’s face well enough to know he was chewing on a question, not sure how to voice it.

                “Yes?”

                Sans eyed his ribcage, and something distinctly sad slipped over his expression.

                “…are you okay? You’ve got… a lot of scars and your soul…”

                _Ah._

“Yes. I’m perfectly fine. None of these wounds are new, and they do not hurt. Do not be sad. These are my scars of hard-won battle, my badges of honor. Only someone so great as the Captain of the Royal Guard would have this many impressive wounds without having any serious ones.”

                Sans’ sockets widened.

                “You’re… really the head of the Royal Guard? Wow. That’s so… cool. My little brother…”

                Papyrus enjoyed this Sans’ praise of him as much as he enjoyed the older one’s. Not to mention, this was a good way to steer Sans off topic.

                “Your brother is very impressive indeed, heh.”

                “We’re finally safe, huh? I knew it. I always knew we’d someday be okay.”

                He could feel it – that sense of unknown that came when his brother spoke. He wanted to open his mouth and ask about it, but stopped himself. _Not yet_. Sans was actually relaxing and enjoying himself now, and even at the cost of the answers he wanted so badly, he wasn’t going to take away his brother’s few minutes of peace before he asked him anything…

                Still, they might want to get out of the bath now. He put his hand along the bar wall and the edge of the tub as he prepared himself to rise.

                “Come on, let’s dry off.”

                Sans glanced back at him, something pleading in his expression.

                “Please… can we stay for five minutes more? It’s really nice.”

                His soft spot not only for Sans, but for children revealed itself again as he found himself letting go and crossing his arms once more as he settled back in the tub with a flimsy put-off sigh.

                “Alright… Five more minutes.”

                Sans’ happy expression was enough to curb any annoyance he’d been trying to front, and he relaxed as he watched his brother play with some suds for a few moments. Seeing Sans’ anxiety continue to diminish and watching him behave like what he expected a child to behave like was a lot more tender to him than he had expected.

                They both deserved this pause and lull in their lives after how stressful the day had been. Listening to Sans quietly hum only reinforced that… As did seeing all the bite and scratch marks all along Sans’ little body that had him tightening his hands and forcing himself to remain mute.

                The signs of some sort of cruel abuse was evident, and Papyrus wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around the monster who’d hurt a child like this, especially his own brother, and not stop squeezing until they dusted in his hands.

                But instead he grabbed the sponge and carefully washed Sans’ bones again, touch exceedingly gentle over all of his chips and nicks and just listened to Sans hum sweetly to himself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what, another chapter~  
> Again, thank you everyone who has left kudos and have commented, its because of you guys and the interest in Smolfell I made this fic a little longer <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update was a little later than the rest! I was busying helping my Grams and doing some baking this year for Easter. I made some yummy Banana Cream Pudding and it was a huge success <3 This is the final chapter of Smolfell, with an epilogue at the end that I think ties the story together perfectly. I hope everyone enjoys it, as I've really enjoyed writing this.

 

                Sans seemed to have a fascination with touching him that couldn’t be satisfied. From being in the tub and investigating his knees or ribs, to lightly touching his arms as he was toweled dried off, Sans made his desire for closeness abundantly clear. Papyrus didn’t like seeing his face twist with concern every time his hand ran over one of his scars or nicks, but there was some comfort seeing that they were old wounds.

                He dressed Sans in another one his bigger self’s sweaters, which seemed to both swallow and engulf him no matter how he fixed it on his tiny brother. As he watched Sans slowly move around in it, he couldn’t help but remember Sans tripping in the labs and smacking his head into the floor. Without much thought to his actions, he picked Sans up and headed toward the living room. There was no way in Asgore’s name was he going to try and let Sans walk down the stairs like this. It was an absolute miracle he hadn’t crashed down them when he made his (rather impressive) escape.

                Thankfully his child brother seemed to not mind the treatment, be it his inherent lazy nature or the fact he just seemed to enjoy being held. Papyrus sat him down on the couch and presented him with a throw blanket, still worried he may end up developing a cold from practically streaking through the snow earlier.

                _It would be like my brother to get sick…_

Once his child brother was secure, Papyrus found himself uncertain of where to begin the story. His obvious hesitance must have shown, because Sans, even this young Sans, seemed receptive to him.

                “Where are we?”

                Good, a starting point to work with.

                “We’re in a place called Snowdin. Furthest place from the Capital besides the Ruins.”

                Sans mulled this over for a few moments as he looked around and asked, “And… this is our house? We’re free, right?”

                “…yes.”

                He was certain Sans wasn’t being intentionally cryptic with him, and could already see the questions bouncing around in his tiny skull. He crossed his arms as he stood before the couch, eyeing his brother carefully as he asked, “Sans, tell me what is the last thing you remember?”

                His brother blinked at him in confusion for a moment before concentrating.

                “I was… I was in the labs between two… experimentation tanks. Hiding from… the noises.”

                “And?”

                “…and then I felt really, really, dizzy and like someone gave me whiplash. Suddenly the tanks were gone and the room was a whole lot brighter. There was a scientist I didn’t know, and everything was confusing… I hid under a desk and then you showed up… sometime later.”

                Papyrus could understand why Sans described the events as “whiplash.” How confusing must it have been to suddenly find yourself somewhere completely different and strange in the blink of an eye, especially as a small and defenseless child?

                His Sans was prone to blackouts alongside his panic attacks, and more than once Papyrus had had to calm Sans down by repeating his name and telling him the date. Sometimes his brother had even been in the process of a blackout and dissociation around him, following him around or wandering off on his own without _being there._ Papyrus had gotten very good at realizing the symptoms and bringing Sans back to his senses, but he could still remember the fear Sans had always tried to hide in his voice when he’d suddenly come back and realize he couldn’t remember anything he’d done that day – or on one particularly bad occasion – the time he had forgotten two entire months. Sans had cried that time, though he had tried to hide his tears.

                Papyrus was beginning to see some of the early warning signs in his child brother, and his soul felt tight at the thought that Sans may have been dealing with these blackouts and panic attacks ever since he was a baby bones, and had hid all the symptoms from him for so long. He was certain it wasn’t just confusion that had caused Sans to break down around him earlier, after all.

                “Papyrus, what happened to you?”

                Sans’ question startled him back into focus. His brother was gazing up at him in worry, twisting his sweater between his hands.

                “Why did you suddenly get so big? When…. And how did we leave the labs? Is _he_ gone?”

                Papyrus decided to be truthful to his brother.

                “Sans, I know what I’m going to say is going to sound… Well, impossible. But I’m going to need you to believe me.”

                “Of course.”

                “R-really? Even if my baffling words astound you?”

                Sans was the one to look at him in confusion now.

                “Why would I doubt you? You’re my little brother… Er… My little big brother? Why would you lie to me?”

                Sans’ complete confidence in him did the astounding, if anything. Sometimes he forgot how devoted his brother was to him – and couldn’t help but be embarrassed and bemused his brother had so much faith in him, even as a small child. He would make certain not to let that faithfulness go to waste.

                “Nyeh heh heh… Exactly. The Great Papyrus wouldn’t lie to you… Though it may sound that way… You see my child brother, you are not… where and how you should be. There was a bigger you not too long ago – an older you. He was in the labs helping the scientist there – the lizard monster from before – on some pet project of hers when there was an accident. A strange serum was spilled on you, and it caused you to digress into the body and mind of a much younger you… or a you like right now.”

                Sans stared at him in confusion for a few moments before asking, “Like… like time travel?”

                Papyrus didn’t seem to follow the connection, but was surprised when Sans suddenly sat up on his knees, something excited beaming in his sockets.

                “So – so like, if I’m here right now – does that mean the big me is in the past? That we swapped places!?”

                Not wanting to douse his child brother’s hopes, but unwilling to lie, he gently said, “I’m not so certain that’s what happened… I’m almost certain you just digressed.”

                His brother wilted at his words, staring down at his lap forlornly.

                “…oh.”

                “Brother?”

                “…heh. It’s just… If big me had been in… uh… “the past” I’m sure he would have grown strong enough to get rid of Gaster and free us…” His brother seemed close to tears and Papyrus floundered on how to comfort him before he perked up again and said, “B-but if we’re here now, out of the labs and free, th-that means I must have gotten rid of him sometime, right!?”

                “…I suppose so? Who is this Gaster you keep talking about?”

                Sans froze, his expression uncertain before turning slightly guarded.

                “…you’re Papyrus, but you don’t know who Gaster is?”

                For a long moment, Papyrus wondered if he had made a mistake and he had someone lost Sans’ trust, but as the minute dragged out, Sans’ expression changed to something… hopeful?

                “…then again, you are… Or _were_ really young… Maybe you don’t remember… Maybe that means we get free before too much longer… Maybe I… Maybe I managed to protect you.”

                Papyrus found himself once again asking, “Who’s Gaster, Sans?”

                His child brother’s guarded expression came back, and he held one of his arms protectively at the elbow.

                “…if big me hasn’t told you… Then maybe it’s better if I don’t.”

                Papyrus didn’t like the way this conversation was turning and grasped for a way to steer it back in the right direction for several moments before he knelt down in front of his brother.

                “Sans. Am I right in assuming this ‘Gaster’ has caused you a great deal of harm?”

                Papyrus kept remembering the multitude of injuries on his brother’s little body, some old, and some still fairly fresh enough to only be a day old.

                “…y-yeah.”

                His brother’s voice was quiet, subdued, and it motivated Papyrus to keep going.

                “Well then, I command you to tell me about this man. I am the Great and Fearsome Papyrus, _Head_ of the _Royal Guard._ I need to know the whereabouts of this monster.”

                “B-but…”

                “This monster is very cruel, right?”

                He’d have to be, do hurt a child like Sans.

                “…yeah, but…”

                “I need to make certain he is imprisoned or dusted. What if he is hurting other monsters? Other children? Sans, as a Royal Guard, it is my job to look into these matters. To put a stop to them if they’re still ongoing.”

                Sans looked incredibly sick at the thought. He seemed to war and debate with himself before finally yielding.

                “Okay. I’ll tell you about… Gaster.”

                Papyrus was relieved at Sans’ words and waited until his brother seemed to get his thoughts in order before speaking.

                “…when I was younger and you were still just a baby… Our _parent,_ ” he spat the word like a curse – surprising Papyrus not only by his venom, but by the fact that they apparently had a “parent” that Sans could even remember. Sans had never spoken of them having parents, and Papyrus couldn’t ever remember having asked before.

                “…sold us to the labs, to the Head Royal Scientist.”

                Try as he might, Papyrus couldn’t remember a Head Royal Scientist before Alphys. He could only assume his child brother was partially right about this “Gaster” disappearing one way or another in the past, or surely he would have heard or remembered something about him, right…?

                “He… seemed almost kind at first… But he’s begun doing horrible experiments on… On monsters lately. He has dusted so many of them… All they do is scream… I have to read to Papyrus every night to cover up the noises or he’ll start crying and get nightmares.”

                The news made Papyrus sick to his bones to think about. He knew enough about some of Alphy’s research to know she’d been requested to try serums on uncooperative monsters once or twice to get them to divulge dangerous information, and enough to have heard some of their yelling confessions before.

                That being said, Dr. Alphys hadn’t ever dusted someone before during the truth serum experiments – that was always left up to Undyne if it came to it, or jailing the individual in question if nothing came from the interrogation. Imaging his brother witnessing something along these lines, something more graphic, especially while he was trying to take care of him as an even smaller child…

                “I… I’ve been made to watch several of the experiments already… and I’m afraid he’s going to put me on one of the tables too. I’m… I’m scared.” Sans seemed ashamed to admit it to him, clutching his arm tighter and looking away from him.

                The severity of his brother’s nightmares were beginning to make more sense to him now, and they made his fists tighten.

                “Sans… Tell me what this monster has done to you.”

                He had tried to keep his voice level and his expression calm, not wanting to startle his brother into silence. Sans nodded at his questions, still looking ashamed.

                “He does… painful things. As long as I listen, he ignores Papyrus and leaves him alone.”

                He had already imagined Sans saying so, and was disgusted a monster would do something as cruel as hit and abuse a child so much. As bad as the Underground could be, there was a normally unspoken rule children were to be left alone. But he hadn’t been expecting what Sans said next.

                “…he makes my soul hurt really bad.”

                Sans was clutching his chest, a grimace on his face.

                “He hurts your soul?”

                Papyrus could feel his outrage rising. Even parents who disciplined their children harshly didn’t hurt their souls – children souls especially were weak to force being exerted over them. A soul was made for battling using magic, for the greatest form of intimacy and trust that could be shared between monsters and nothing more. Even thinking about someone using a soul to purposefully hurt a child made him desire to tear someone’s limbs off. Even the Guard didn’t inflict injuries on a person’s soul in interrogation. Looking back at his brother showed he had a haunted expression on his face, and that he was trembling.

                “It feels like he’s going to break me… Everything gets hot and painful, and I hate it. He doesn’t stop until he’s satisfied… And he gets really upset when I don’t listen. I won’t… ever let him do these things to Papyrus. I’m going to protect him no matter what.”

                Then, without warning, Sans seemed to see something terrifying right over Papyrus’ shoulder and clutched his legs close to himself defensively and start to sob. His tears brought everything Sans had been saying into high definition, and for a moment, Papyrus wasn’t certain if he wanted to throw up, comfort his brother, or dust everyone in a mile radius of his child brother.

                But Sans’ crying snapped him out of his daze, and he moved forward and wrapped his arms around his brother, knowing he’d made a huge mistake. He knew this confession was something he should have never heard from his child brother’s mouth, and he shouldn’t have pushed for it. He could have just asked his brother when he returned to normal.

                Sans clung to him and cried, quietly saying his name over and over again and Papyrus couldn’t think of any way to comfort him besides to just keep holding him and pace around with him held protectively in his arms. He could tell Sans was falling into a delusion because of his panic attack by the noises and cries of distress he made and was further enraged by his own actions.

                “Sans, it’s alright. I’m here. _You’re here._ ”

                Sans was pleading against his shoulder, still bawling and trembling, and Papyrus hated himself for the plan that came to him but with the way his child brother was screaming and pleading his head off, he was afraid Sans might hurt himself.

                He called Sans’ soul out, which only caused Sans to grow even more hysterical. As Sans scratched him and struggled with all his might, Papyrus focused on carefully keeping his own distress down as he tried to push calmness into his brother’s soul. He’d done this with his brother before, right after his worst nightmares or when Sans seemed to believe the world was about to disappear under their feet – and he prayed it would work this time.

                Sans rejected his pushing immediately, struggling renewed, but Papyrus was anything but impatient. He knew he could force Sans to submit to the treatment as a last resort, but seeing how his brother was already reacting, Papyrus would rather dust himself than make Sans accept this unless he absolutely had to.

                So for several minutes as he held and restrained Sans from taking out his panic on himself, he continued to push calming waves of emotions around and into Sans’ soul before his brother became exhausted from fighting against him and stopped resisting, going slack and dead weight in his arms.

                For a minute more, he just continued to cry and do nothing else before Papyrus felt their souls make a connection again, and for the second time that day, felt Sans recognize him once again. This time his brother didn’t fling his arms around him, but instead barely clutched at his scarf and didn’t say anything. He stroked his brother’s skull consolingly, to let him know everything would be alright.

                “It’s okay, brother… It’s alright Sans. I’m here. You’re here. No one is going to hurt you, I swear it. I’m going to keep you safe.”

                Sans still didn’t reply, and Papyrus carried him upstairs into his own bedroom and placed Sans down on his bed. He was trying to tuck him in when Sans refused to let go of him or his scarf, and tugged insistently at his clothes.

                “D-don’t leave me alone… Please… I’m scared.”

                Papyrus wanted to pull away to slide off his boots and armor, but couldn’t bring himself to make Sans let go of him for even a single moment. He crawled into bed over the covers and wrapped his scarf around his brother as he held him. He was honestly impressed Sans was still able to talk after that episode. He’d known Sans to stop talking for the rest of the day when he’d had a fit as bad as his child brother had just had.

                Clinging to him, Sans sniffled into his shirt. 

                “I… I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to go back to the labs and wake up and be afraid… I don’t want to be an experiment, or have- have him…”

                Worried about sending him into another panic, Papyrus held him tighter and he stroked his shaking bones to calm him.

                “You won’t.”

                “Pap?”

                He made his brother look at him.

                “I promise you, Sans. I’ll protect you. He won’t hurt you anymore… and you’ll be safe from now on… And Sans taught me to never make a promise unless I was committed to keeping them.”

                Sans sniffled and clung to him, burying his head into Papyrus’ shirt until he cried himself to sleep. Once his brother finally relaxed, Papyrus found himself unable to rest and spent several hours trying to think up plans to this situation as if it were a particularly hard and challenging puzzle. He would not go back on his word to Sans – he would protect him not matter what.

                _There **has** to be a protect Sans. _

                As if sensing his thoughts, Sans seemed to relax further in his hold and seemed to be dreaming something peaceful if the look on his face was any indication. It gave Papyrus some peace, but little respite from his thoughts.

Just an hour before he knew he needed to rise, Papyrus let himself drift into sleep, knowing his internal clock would wake him up on time. Even in his dreams, he was still trying to configure a solution to this problem when he found himself awoken slightly earlier than expected and looked to see what was wrong with Sans.

                To his shock, his older brother stared back up at him from his embrace, confusion evident on his tired face as he stretched out beside him with a yawn.

                “…wassup? Wassn’t I just in the lab a few minutes ago…? Did I fall asleep?”

                “Sans! You’re back!”

                The unbelieve relief that his brother was back to normal was nearly completely crushed at the realization that he’d **failed** and **broken his promise.**

“Y-you’re… back.”

                Sans’ hand moved up to lightly touch his cheekbones, his older brother’s expression slightly bewildered and concerned. Papyrus slowly brought his hand up to hold and clutch his brother’s.

                “Pap…? Why are you crying?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you guys move onto the epilogue, I want to say thank you again to everyone who gave this story a kudos and especially thank you for all the supportive and curious comments people have continued to leave me. I love getting new people to comment and when someone leaves a comment about their thoughts each chapter, its even more amazing. It's really wonderful to me and it helps me feel like I get to know you guys a little, and know what your speculations are so far. 
> 
> Feel free to drop your thoughts before you move on to the epilogue, or combine them in one comment after you read the ending. I'm always grateful to read your comments <3


	6. Epilogue

Sans’ POV.

 

                Papyrus was sitting on his knees in the snow, staring blankly ahead. Adjusting his brother’s scarf around his neck, he sighed for at least the third time in the last hour. He’d had the situation explained to him, methodically by Papyrus and bits and pieces from Alphys, and had inferred a lot in between from both of them.

                It seemed his younger self had confessed… some skeletons that Sans would have really liked to have kept buried in his closet. Forever.

                …and it seemed Papyrus hadn’t taken the revelations so well. So far, he hadn’t asked Sans about anything his younger self had said. He’d just adjusted to a… stoic persona, something his brother often did to cope with a series of stressful events that he’d forgotten how to properly deal with.

                It was the end of the day and he’d noticed Papyrus hadn’t come home from his shift yet and had gone to find his wayward brother only to find him laminating by himself behind the house. He had decided to just watch and observe until his brother had worked out whatever was going through his mind, knowing Papyrus was aware of him.

                His latest sigh seemed to cause his brother to sigh too, and Sans felt like this was as much as a cue as he was going to get from Papyrus. He walked to stand just a foot behind him, keeping his scarf half covering his face. He knew if Papyrus turned and saw his smile had dropped, he’d feel even worse.

                “Paps… You gotta tell me what’s wrong. I know you think I’m… superbly intuitive, but as much as it pains me to admit, I’m not actually a mind reader.”

                _This would make everything a whole lot easier if I was._

                His brother was quiet for several moments before he whispered, “Sans… I made a promise. A promise I knew I couldn’t keep, and yet I still _made it._ ”

                “You did it to comfort a crying child, Paps. Is that so bad?”

                Papyrus half spun to face him, expression angry and hurt.

                “Yes! Because he really needed me! He needed The Great Papyrus to protect him… And if I can’t even protect a child, my _own brother,_ then what… can I do…?”

                He turned away again, and Sans wondered if he should leave Papyrus alone again, but decided to trust his ‘gut’ so to speak and moved to place his hand on his brother’s shoulder.

                “…you don’t have to protect me, Paps. But you do. You have for a very long time now… But back then, you were just a little kid.”

                “So were you, Sans!”

                “ _Exactly_. We were kids, and we were scared. But I was the big brother, and it was my… No, it wasn’t my job. I _wanted_ to protect you like you want to protect me. That’s why when this world keeps going to shit, we always have each other’s backs… And you had mine again, Paps. I don’t remember anythin’ about being a kid again, but I know you comforted me when I was scared out of my mind… You _did_ protect me, Papyrus. That kid isn’t sufferin’ in those labs anymore. He’s right here, just grown up… and everyday you’ll keep fulfilling that promise. Like you always have.”

                Papyrus couldn’t seem to tell if he wanted to accept Sans’ comfort or reject it, so he chose to rake a clawed hand angrily through the snow.

                “I hate this, Sans!”

                “Hate what, bro?”

                “I hate not knowing! I hate… **I hate that I didn’t know** what you did to protect me when we were kids, and I hate not knowing you were experimented on and tortured and that… That I don’t know about that – **that _bastard_** – who terrorized you so badly that even today you still suffer so…”

                He squeezed Papyrus’ shoulder, cutting off his angry tirade. It was a lot like he had already guessed, then. Papyrus had learned a lot of things Sans wished he could help his brother forget. He even wanted to convince Papyrus to drop the conversation _indefinitely_.

                “…Sans. I hate not knowing most of all.”

                He felt as if Papyrus had read his mind and grimaced, waring with himself before he took a deep breath and then sighed one more time.

                “…okay, Papyrus.”

                “…Sans?”

                “I’ll tell you the truth… About how we got to the labs… What happened there… and how we ended up in Snowdin. I’ll tell you what happened to… him. I’ll tell you what I can remember.”

                He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to burden Papyrus with these things – these disgusting memories that he wished had been completely wiped from his mind… and even as he told Papyrus he would tell him about these memories, he refused to tell him everything. There were somethings Papyrus would never need to know. Or more truthfully, there were just somethings that Sans couldn’t bring himself to speak of.

                Papyrus reached up and put his hand over Sans’.

                “…thank you.”

                “…You might not be thanking me later. Now, c’mon. Get up. Nobody died… You can’t keep mourning like this… Especially as the Head of the Royal Guard.”

                His brother took a few moments to collect himself before he stood up again. Sans caught him halfway up and wrapped Papyrus’ scarf back where it belonged. His brother touched it quietly for a few moments, expression still soft and uncertain before a moment later, the Papyrus he had come to recognize more often than not appeared. Tall, imposing, and strong.

                “We’re going inside.”

                “Heh. Okay, you’re the boss.”

                Sans followed Papyrus around the house, eyeing the trail of small monster feet than ran through town. Within half an hour, the last remaining traces of his past self would certainly vanish… Though he felt as if the repercussions from his visit were going to linger for a long time.

                …but he couldn’t find it in himself to consider that a bad thing. His visit seemed to have helped him and Papyrus bond more, and it looked as if it was about to cause him to finally be able to talk about his past, when he’d long since given up on ever being able to speak about it to anyone.

                It was funny, life’s little ironies.

                Who would have thought the doorway to this long awaited and dreaded conversation would have been opened by himself, after he so vehemently promised to never ever open that door.

                Truly, if either of them had broken a promise, it definitely wasn’t Papyrus.

 

...............

 

Gaster’s POV.

 

                The terminal in front of him said one simple thing that left a resounding message: **A glitch has occurred in the timeline.**

                He couldn’t help but chuckle.

                “How fascinating.”

                _Perhaps… working with time would be interesting after all_ … _And I have just the specimen for my projects…_

               

……………

 

Sans’ POV.

 

                Sans was confused, the memories of a half-remembered dream quickly fading from his mind as he found himself waking up between two experimentation tanks just as the lab doors burst open. Groggy and terrified, he slipped behind one of the tanks as two lab assistants dragged a convulsing monster across the room. Something slipped off his back, but nobody paid it any attention as they dragged him through the north doors.

                Sans waited until the doors shut behind them before he slid out of his hiding spot and walked over to the fallen item, carefully picking it up. It long like a dark red cape of some kind, in pretty good condition too… He didn’t know why, but the image of a different monster wearing this as a scarf flashed through his mind. He felt overcome with the need to give this to Papyrus.

                _Maybe… he could use this as a safety blanket until he’s older._

He would tell Papyrus this was a hero’s cape that would protect him. Lately his brother had been having nightmares… He hoped this would help.

                As he made the slow and careful trek back to Papyrus’ playroom to bring him the red cloth, he passed by one of Gaster’s data laboratories and was frightened to see the doctor was inside, staring at one of the huge monitors that displayed an omnious message: **A glitch has occurred in the timeline.**

For some reason, Sans felt dizzy as if he was experiencing whiplash. Shaking his head, he hurried away from there as silently as he could in fear Gaster would spot him.

                As he traveled down the identical hallways, Sans felt as if he was going through a loop. Were they always this long? He knew they were, but couldn’t help but always ask himself that question as he neared Papyrus’ room. His brother was inside, sitting on the floor drawing something but he perked up immediately when he saw him.

                “B’roth’r!”

                Sans embraced his brother warmly and protectively, surprising him by immediately wrapping him up in the red cloth – it seemed to swallow him.

                “Wh’t t’is?”

                “It’s a hero’s cape, Paps. It’ll keep you protected from all bad things as long as you wear it.”

                “R’lly!?”

                “Mm-hm. Promise.”

                Sans stilled, lightly holding his head.

                “B’roth’r?”

                He didn’t know why, but he was overcome with the need to tell Papyrus something.

                “Hey, Paps… Never make a promise you can’t keep, okay?”

                Confused, his brother nodded with a smile.

                “O’ky!”

                “Good… That’s good…”

                “D’d y’u mean it?”

                “Mean what, Paps?”

                “Th’t w’r goin’ to g’t out of h’re one d’ay?”

                He found himself holding his brother protectively again, lightly stroking his skull.

                “Of course, Paps… It was a promise, right? And… And when we get out… I’ll take us somewhere with snow and trees.”

                “Sn’w? Tr’ss?”

                “Yeah, a nice _cool_ place.”

                Sans was certain he’d never been to a cold region in his entire life and wondered why he could somehow picture one in his head now.

                “Th’t soun’ds ‘ice!”

                Unaware of his own pun, Sans found himself chuckling, suddenly realizing just how much he really liked jokes. In fact, as Papyrus started to laugh – not knowing why they were suddenly laughing but just too eager and  happy to join his brother in anything – Sans decided he would start memorizing all of the jokes in the few books that they had.

                Until they escaped… He was determined to make certain his little brother wouldn’t forgot how to laugh and be a child.

                …and maybe prevent himself from forgetting, too. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who's read Smolfell. I hadn't planned for it to be this long, but I couldn't bring myself to end it early when everyone seemed so happy and excited about it. 
> 
> I want to get started on Witchfell again, but when it comes to my writing I don't want to half-ass anything, you know? Life's a little challenging right now so doing a small project like Smolfell where I knew exactly how long I wanted it to be and how it would end seemed perfect right now. 
> 
> I don't want to start Witchfell again until my inspiration for it is completely back (I'm in NO way abandoning it as I still love it to pieces) and I have some time to not stress myself out. I think I'm just going to update A Certain Indescribable with some of the works from my blog, and I'm thinking of starting a new Swapfell-centric project (an AU of Swapfell I guess.)
> 
> I'm sorry if I'll make you wait on that one, I'll try to update it at least a chapter or two soon. Taking time away from it actually seemed to help me with it, so while I can't promise anything, who knows!
> 
> Anyway, thank you everyone! I hope you'll continue to enjoy my other stories, those currently posted and those that will be posted in the future! You've all be completely amazing <3

**Author's Note:**

> I am @luna-sin-sin on Tumblr, and run a nsfw blog where I post my writing from inspiration I get from Undertale artwork. *Please* don't follow me if you're a minor. 
> 
> Love what I do? Wanna support me make more fanfiction? I now have a Ko-fi page if you'd like to be my patron and donate! And as thanks, I'd be more than happy to write you a fanfiction of your OTP or favorite characters interacting as a thank you, and put it in my Merci series as a gift fic to you <3 
> 
> https://ko-fi.com/lunasi


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